Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 71814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
That led to some arguments. Zoe was relentlessly fiery, standing her ground and not letting up in the slightest. Sure, it was frustrating that we butted heads with her and her groups so much, but she was also… frustratingly attractive. Her determination and passion were inspiring, and she was beautiful too.
But I couldn’t let any of the guys know that I was hooked on the enemy. We had to fight back! And I found a way to draw some of her attention to me. Damn, teenagers were pathetic.
I started telling people to ignore Zoe and her group, especially when they started to gain support for their plan to remove the candy and chip vending machines by the gym and cafeteria. Instead they wanted a small cooler section full of healthy snacks like yoghurts and hummus in the cafeteria.
Looking back, it was a good idea because kids didn’t need to gorge themselves on junk food like we did back then, but I wasn’t aware of that as a teenager.
However, what I was aware of was when she heard that Gabe and I were behind the silencing campaign, she was pissed. That started all sorts of bickering sessions that left me frustrated in more ways than one. The tension between us was torturous, and I struggled with the growing feelings I had for her that I shouldn’t have had in the first place.
Now that I was older, it was obvious that I went about getting her attention in the worst way possible. I went too far, and I doubted that she wanted to see me or Gabe after the bullshit we put her through. But we would both see her today at the station since it was our shift, and I struggled between feelings of excitement and nervousness.
How in the world would she react to seeing us?
I pulled open the glass front door of the coffee shop, immediately being hit by the strong smell of freshly brewed coffee. There was a wall to the left that was pure white with the shop’s name painted on it in a teal color. Metal tables and chairs dotted the interior as I made my way to the tall, wooden ordering counter where I could see my brother waiting in line.
I greeted my younger brother by one year by slamming my hands down on his shoulder from behind, making him jump at first. He didn’t even have to turn around and look at me to realize who was messing with him.
“You know, you’re going to get decked doing that one day,” Gabe said with a chuckle as he turned to give me a light push. “How was your morning run? That sounds awful by the way.”
“Fulfilling,” I replied as I crossed my arms over the white dri-fit shirt I had on with black athletic pants. “Did you hear about Zoe being back?”
“Of course, I did,” Gabe said, his bright expression dimming a little. “She should be at the station today.”
We shifted forward as the line moved, silence following his words for a few seconds. There was a lot that needed to be said to Zoe regarding the past, but I didn’t really know where to start. Looking back, we were a couple of punks who didn’t know how to properly talk to a girl we found attractive, so we did the stupidest thing ever and pissed her off instead.
“I’d be surprised if she even said hello to us,” I told him.
Gabe scoffed.
“Wouldn’t blame her if she jumped down our throats like she used to,” he replied.
An amused expression formed on my face as I nodded in agreement.
“We went too far,” I said.
Guilt flickered in Gabe’s eyes as he nodded.
“We should probably apologize,” he suggested.
“A very good apology,” I added as we moved forward again. “Especially if we’re all going to be working together on the arson case.”
Gabe smiled a little.
“She loves being in the middle of drama,” he teased with a look of admiration on his face.
I chuckled, remembering how Zoe wasn’t afraid to charge into conflict to defend her interests or her friends. She never let any of our group step on hers, and her resistance egged our dumb teenage minds on. We saw things as a competition when they could’ve been a collaboration.
Now was our chance to do things right. If she accepted that.
“She’s tough enough to handle it,” I replied. She had nerves of steel, and even if I was wary about her being involved in the case, I knew that she could most likely handle it.
When it was our turn, we ordered enough hot coffees for everyone at the station, including Zoe. Whenever we worked the morning shift, we often made a coffee run for the rest of the crew to start everyone’s day right. Between paperwork, training, and cleaning, we had a lot to do at the station until we got our first call.